What tools do companies need to succeed? That question is always top of mind for us here at WeWork. Whether it’s beautifully designed workspace, a robust community, or diverse suite of services, we want to help our members do what they love and ensure they have the tools to compete in the 21st-century economy. Often, we look to the things that have helped make our own business thrive when we make new offerings available to our members. If a new approach, platform, or service has helped our fast-growing global business flourish, we want to share those learnings with our members and beyond.
It is in that spirit that we announce that WeWork is acquiring Conductor, a technology leader whose mission is to “transform marketing into a force for improving people’s lives.” Conductor serves over 1,000 brands around the world, improving the online presence of major corporations including Citibank, Salesforce, CVS, and more.
Conductor is capitalizing on a revolutionary change in marketing, one in which marketers attract customers through relevant, high-quality content online instead of depending on traditional ad-serving models to drive online acquisition.
WeWork began working with Conductor in 2016. Conductor has helped us improve our digital marketing and online presence by making it easier for us to reach new potential WeWork members based on what they are seeking. They’ve also helped us tailor our efforts regionally. Conductor’s platform has helped us grow our business, and we want to help them scale so they can help you grow yours. Together, we can help large companies expand their digital presence and deliver customer value through digital content.
Conductor will continue to operate as an independent business line, with CEO Seth Besmertnik remaining in his role and reporting to WeWork President and Chief Financial Officer Artie Minson.
“There’s a lot that make WeWork and Conductor a natural fit,” said Minson. “Seth and his team built Conductor to provide the insights, education, and resources their customers need to succeed—in other words, Conductor helps their customers do what they love, and do it better.”
Minson added: “Conductor has made it easier for us to reach potential WeWork members who are looking for workspace. It’s also helped us get the word out about the services and amenities that we offer to companies of all sizes.”
Besmertnik said that Conductor’s mission to improve people’s lives aligns perfectly with WeWork.
“Together, Conductor and WeWork share a vision to bring a human-driven focus to the trillion dollar marketing category. We want to inspire and contribute to the cultural revolution happening across modern companies and put people – our coworkers, our customers, our communities – first,” Besmertnik said.
There’s another point of connection between the companies: Besmertnik and WeWork CEO Adam Neumann have known each other since they attended Baruch College. They both left early to become entrepreneurs, finishing their degrees after their companies were well established.
When WeWork started in 2010, our focus was the startups and small businesses that filled our first few locations. In the subsequent eight years, we’ve welcomed hundreds of the world’s largest corporations—like GE, Mastercard, and Samsung—into our more than 200 locations. These large companies are now the fastest growing part of our business, making up 25 percent of our membership.
WeWork believes in empowering our member companies with the tools they need to successfully run and build their businesses. For example, last year WeWork launch Powered by We, which helps companies create the perfect office space. Powered by We allows enterprise companies to tap into WeWork’s software and hardware infrastructure to better manage, design, and operate their business.
Over the past year, WeWork has continued to add services to help members achieve their goals. In October we joined forces with Flatiron School, a world-class coding academy that helps people learn the skills they need to get programming jobs. Other educational initiatives include partnerships with 2U (an online education platform that streamlines access to graduate-level courses at top universities) and SoFi (which helps people save money by refinancing their student loans).
Making our spaces more vibrant—including outside of normal business hours—is another of WeWork’s goals. That’s why WeWork acquired Meetup, a robust platform that brings people together in real life. More than 100,000 people used WeWork for their meetups last year. That number is expected to climb this year.
